Ten feared dead after Japan tunnel collapses

As many as 10 people were feared dead on Sunday after a major road tunnel collapsed
on to a busy Japanese motorway, sending dozens of concrete panels crashing
down on motorists below.

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo

6:14PM GMT 02 Dec 2012

The accident happened at 8am in the Sasago motorway tunnel, one of the longest in the country, that passes through a mountain about 50 miles west of Tokyo. The road links the Japanese capital to the city of Nagoya.

Large sections of the tunnel’s concrete roof fell on passing cars, burying some vehicles and trapping others.

A still taken from CCTV footage from inside the tunnel

Efforts to rescue survivors were seriously hindered after one of the vehicles caught fire, igniting a blaze that was fed by petrol from ruptured fuel tanks and sending heavy black smoke billowing from the tunnel entrance.

There were also concerns about further collapses in the unstable tunnel, part of the busy Chuo Expressway that links Tokyo and Nagoya to the southwest.

Police vehicles parked at the entrance of the smoke filled tunnel (AP)

Reports suggested that at least three bodies were found inside the tunnel, with as many as another seven people missing. One survivor said she had managed to escape from a car carrying six people that was crushed.

“I could hear voices of people calling for help, but the fire was just too strong,” said a woman interviewed by public broadcaster NHK after she escaped.

Police told local media that they do not know what caused the eight inch lining of the 2.5 mile tunnel to give way at 8am on Sunday, although a strong earthquake rattled central Japan on November 24. The 4.9 magnitude tremor was felt beneath Tokyo Bay.

One other theory last night, was that the disaster may have been caused by a landslide inside the mountain.

Wider concerns have been expressed recently over falling standards at a number of Japanese companies.

Some companies feeling the impact of the economic downturn have also been reluctant to invest in improved safety measures.

Tokyo Electric Power Company had failed to upgrade its protection against a major tsunami before the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March of last year.

AFP/Getty Images

It was not clear last night whether a maintenance issue may be to blame but Central Nippon Expressway, the operator of the route, held a press conference and said routine safety checks as recently as September had detected no faults.

Takekazu Kaneko, the president of the Nagoya-based company, expressed his deep regret and said: “I will place

priority on rescuing those who have been left behind.”

A total of 14 fire engines were dispatched to the scene and television footage showed ambulances and other emergency vehicles waiting at both ends of the tunnel. Before nightfall, grey smoke could still be seen seeping from the mouth of the tunnel.

As the rescue teams continued their work, a number of survivors told the story of their miraculous escapes from the tunnel.

“As I was driving in the tunnel, pieces of concrete suddenly started falling from the ceiling,” one man told national broadcaster NHK.

“I saw a car that had been crushed and had caught fire,” he said. “I was frightened. I got out of my car and walked for about one hour to get out of the tunnel.”

Another driver who escaped the disaster was Yoshio Goto, a reporter for NHK, who said he put his foot down to escape the falling debris.

“I was a bit too late and pieces of the roof fell on my car,” he said. “I kept pressing the pedal and managed to get out. Then, when I looked around, I saw that half of the top of my car had been crushed.”

The accident is the worst of its kind since February 1996, when an earthquake was blamed for destabilising the roof of the Furubira road tunnel in Hokkaido. A rock face some 210 feet tall and 120 feet wide - and weighing an estimated 50,000 tons - fell on a municipal bus and a passenger car, killing 20 people.

Emergency teams were strongly criticised for taking two weeks to reach the victims, although it was later apparent that they would have died instantly.